Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

[gwoloshyn]

1978 Evinrude 140hp Model 140883C

I pulled the lower unit off along with the cover that the shifter shaft slides in but now I cannot manually shift the motor by moving the shaft up and down while rotating both the driveshaft and prop shaft. I haven't removed any other parts besides the water pump. What could be the problem?

 

[gwoloshyn]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

Please delete thread I was able to shift it with a little more force. thanks

 

[boobie]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

You may have some corrision build up in the shift rod hsg, The shift rod should move real easy.

 

[gwoloshyn]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

The shift rod housing was removed at the time.

I have my bearing carrier pulled and removed. How much further do I need to go for a full lower unit re-seal? Do I need to completely remove the prop shaft and drive shaft? I've removed the carrier, the shift shaft housing, and the drive shaft seal housing.

 

[multimech]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

The orings in the shift housing have salt built up behind them. Remove the orings. Preferably sand blast the inside of the housing and reinstall new orings.

Order the seals individually, because a kit will be expensive and have a lot of parts you don't need. Install all new prop, drivshaft seals and orings. Ensure you get a brown oring that goes around the driveshaft seal housing.

You don't have to remove any of the shafts to do this. I would get a pressure checker and test it after you have resealed it. Sometimes the shafts are grooved and will not seal, unless you can move the seals to a little different position.

 

[gwoloshyn]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

Thanks for the tips.

Another question: When re-installing the bearing carrier assembly, towards the bottom it gets very tight and hard to push in any further. This is either because I'm trying to align the propshaft into the carrier bearing, or it's a press fit. I know I'm supposed to use a long rod to line up the bolt holes in the backing plate, any other advice for reinstalling this carrier?

 

[multimech]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

Yeah, when it gets to that point, tap it with a dowel and a hammer. That will seat it. That is the oring friction near it's seating point. I reread your post and found that you can't move the shift lever with the shift housing off? Then you have a mechanical problem or everything is simply not lined up right. Reinstall the shift housing and shift rod. Try it again.

 

[gwoloshyn]

Re: Cannot manually move shift shaft up and down

When it gets to the point of when it stops, it seems I need to align the propshaft into the bearing perfectly or else it won't go in. With the carrier removed, I can move the prop shaft back and forth, side to side.

The shift shaft will move, however its very hard to move by hand. Is this normal? I've only removed the shift shaft and everything is operating fine, just tough to move.